Another great recycling plant tour

After I posted a video tour of Marglen Industries' PET recycling plant yesterday, I received an email link to another good recycling plant tour. So today I encourage readers to check out Placon Corp.'s EcoStar recycling plant in Fitchburg, Wis.

Jennifer Mitchell, Placon's marketing communications manager, says the company put together the video to provide a virtual tour the new recycling facility.

"We wanted to show the recycling story, not only tell it," she said. "Our EcoStar facility is unique in its ability to run mixed thermoform bales as well as bottles. Watching how it starts out as dirty plastic and comes out clean food-grade flake is quite the process. There are several washing cycles, sorting processes, metal detectors and even a decontamination process that can only clearly be explained by watching how it flows through."

Mitchell brought up another good reason for companies to create video tours of their plants (I mentioned a few in my blog post yesterday) -- it helps potential customers who have limited travel budgets.

"Many of our customers were interested when we announced we were adding this facility, but with traveling freezes it isn't always possible for companies to come and tour it," she said.

"This video has been used for more than customers though. We showed it at our open house a few weeks ago prior to employees and local community members going through the plant.

"Even with a tour guide it is difficult to hear the step-by-step process so this familiarizes them before they go in and may prompt some additional questions as they go through."

Placon hired a local company in Madison, Wis., to shoot and edit the video.

"We discussed trying to do it ourselves but because of the noise level from the machines it is hard to take a camera through and do it at a level we would be happy with," Mitchell said. "We are very pleased how it turned out and summarizes the story."

I hope the Marglen and Placon examples encourage more plastics processors to look into how they might use video to help promote their companies.